Former 'Blue's Clues' Host Steve Burns Enjoys Playing His Character More Today, Years After Departure

Steve Burns recounted his departure from the first cutout animation series for preschoolers, "Blue's Clues," two decades ago, and said he loved playing the character more today.

"I've never enjoyed being Steve more than I do now," Burns told Variety. "I get to wear a trenchcoat. It's like Grover-meets-Columbo — a clown character. That's really freeing somehow."

Burns returned to his beloved character in the movie "Blue's Big City Adventure." The film unites Burns, Donovan Patton, who hosted the show after Burns' exit, and its new host Josh Dela Cruz.

The former "Blue's Clues" host also explained his abrupt departure from the show in 2002 in the same interview. Viewers were told that his character was heading off to college. However, there were various speculations from fans, and Burns wanted to set the record straight.

When he left the show, Burns said that he was beginning to lose his hair and didn't want to wear a wig on TV because he was approaching 30 at the time. For him, his shaved head pointed to a simpler truth, "I wasn't going to be boyish anymore." The TV host had grown up.

He also suffered from clinical depression while filming the show. It took him years to fully recover.

"After I left 'Blue's Clues,' there was a long period of healing. It wasn't until the death of my father that I really started to take things seriously, and my life became so much more manageable," he continued.

His greatest wish was that he had gotten help when he was still on the show. However, he also didn't think it would delay his exit.

Burns also returned for the show's 25th anniversary last year. The original host filmed a short clip to remind fans that he hadn't forgotten them years after he left the series.

"Hi, you got a second?" the former host said in the video. "You remember how when we were younger we used to run around and hang out with Blue, and find clues, and talk to Mr. Salt, and freak out about the mail, and do all the fun stuff? And then one day, I was like, 'Oh hey, guess what? Big news... I'm leaving.'"

In the same video, he acknowledged that he had not returned to the franchise for "like, a really long time" and addressed his grown-up fans.

"Look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time," he said while directly addressing viewers in a typical "Blue's Clues" fashion. "And it's just... it's just so amazing, right? I mean, we started out with clues, and now it's what? Student loans, and jobs, and families, and some of that has been kind of hard, you know? I know you know."

He continued, "And I wanted to tell you that I really couldn't have done all of that without your help. And, in fact, all the help that you helped me with when we were younger is still helping me today, right now, and that's super cool. I guess I just wanted to say that after all these years I never forgot you. Ever. And I'm super glad we're still friends."

"Blue's Big City Adventure" premieres on Paramount+ Friday, Nov. 18.